


Where Wild Horses Are Broken: Tales from Foreign Zootopias

by 5P00K



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anthology, Dark Comedy, F/F, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Horror, Romance, War, Western, World War III, Zootopia (City), short story collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-08-29 07:50:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16740022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/5P00K/pseuds/5P00K
Summary: A mysterious bunny bonds with a suicidal fox over their failures and grievances.A honest, hard working bunny causes a huge scandal when she meets a less-than-law-abiding stranger.A young bunny is saved from having to go to Zootopia by a kind-hearted fox, as she dreams of making Zootopia a better place someday.A bunny and her husband are visited by murderous stranger, changing their lives forever.A former cop bonds with a young fox in the dilapidated city that was Zootopia.A aspiring film-director hires an odd actor to be his star.Six different Zootopias. Six different outcomes. One story defining relationship.





	1. Prologue

Prologue

Judy Hopps, age twenty-four, lay on the hood of her red truck. It was surprisingly comfortable, laying next to her partner, Nick Wilder, age twenty-nine. The metal of the hood wasn't abrasive or trying to give her arthritis. It was just a cold feeling against her back. Nick, on the other hand, looked like he was in agony.

His legs were spilling off the hood and his arms were desperately trying to keep him up on the hood. His hands were clutching the sides of the car as he pushed himself up further to get more comfortable.

"When you said 'date,'" he said, looking over at her with exasperation. "I didn't think you meant laying on your itty-bitty truck, looking at the stars."

"Oh, hush," she said, looking at him. "Quit your whining. If my dad were here, he'd scold you for being ungrateful I even have a truck."

"Please," he said, rolling his eyes. "If your dad were here, I'd think he'd say a lot more about me than about the truck."

Judy sighed. "Well, that's my fault. I kind've haven't told them we're dating yet." Her ears folded back against her head as she blushed a bright pink.

Nick's eyes widened. "Oh, crap. You're going to  _Get Out_ me, aren't you?"

Judy giggled, "No, Nick, this isn't  _Get Out."_

The fox's green eyes filled with mock panic as he continued, "Your dad's going to jump out of the trunk and knock me out. I'm gonna go missing for months!"

 The doe laughed, her small body curling up. Her laugh made Nick smile as he wrapped his arm over her shoulder.

"Ah, Carrots," he said, kissing the top of her head. This made her blush heavily, but a small smile formed on her face. The two mammals looked up at the stars, as they shined down on them, as if they were small diamonds embedded in a black sea. Judy snuggled up to Nick as they got comfortable.

"Hey, Nick?" Judy asked quietly, her lavender eyes looking up at him. Nick looked at her, in response to her query. "Do you think there are... alternate realities?''

"Alternate realities?" Nick replied. "Like, a reality where something different happens than what actually happens here?"

Judy nodded. "I was reading this book about it, and it was really interesting. I was wondering what your beliefs were on the matter."

The canine looked up at the stars. "Maybe," he said. "I mean, I don't want to discount it entirely. There could be whole different universes, whole different timelines."

The doe looked at him again. "Whole different ways we could've met?"

Nick nodded. "Of course. We could be brother and sister in one, and bitter enemies in another."

Judy crinkled her nose. "Brother and Sister?"

"I just made it weird, didn't I?" the fox chuckled. Judy giggled and nodded. Nick pulled her closer and sighed. This was the life; out with his girlfriend, admiring the stars, just talking with said girlfriend about whatever he wanted. He let out a sigh of content as he closed his eyes.

"You okay?" Judy said, turning on her side to look at him.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm just content, you know? I'm glad our relationship ended up like this." He opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"Yeah," Judy said, smiling. "I'm happy with this too. Imagine if we had met any differently?"

"Trust me, Carrots," he said. "I'm fine with dealing with this one. Now," he said, clapping his hands together. "Let's get this picnic underway."

 


	2. The Bunny Wearing the OMAM T-Shirt

**The Bunny Wearing the OMAM Shirt: Part One**

 

Nick woke up in the hospital.

It was a gentle awakening. The kind where you wake up, but want to keep your eyes shut, just to see if you can sleep a little longer. But, inevitably, you have to open your eyes. And when he did, he realized the familiar white of the room, the beeping of the heart rate monitor, and the stiff comfort of the bed supporting him.

What wasn't normal was the gray shape sitting in a chair next to an open window. Nick rubbed his eyes and looked again. Sitting there, casually smoking a cigarette and giving him a look of sarcastic indifference, was a bunny.

"You're awake," She said. "Good." Nick blinked at her, a little confused. What was a bunny doing in his room, smoking? Even stranger, she seemed different from the other bunnies Nick had seen over the course of his life. Instead of the Southern charm, emanating from this particular doe was a sort of punk vibe. She wore a black leather jacket, ripped jeans, and a white t-shirt, with letters in bold, spelling out **'OMAM** '.

"What are you doing in my room?" he asked. He sat up, but winced. Around his neck was a cast, white as the sheets on his bed. He laid back down. "I don't know you."

"Of course you don't," the bunny said. "I just wanted to see you."  _What a weird statement,_ Nick thought. "On the news. You did something I once tried to do, and we live near the same street, so... Here I am."

Nick looked down at the cast in embarrassment. "My neck... It-It didn't work?"

"Well, I'm certainly not an angel," the bunny scoffed rolling her eyes. "So, no. It didn't work." She scooted the chair closer, putting out the cigarette. "How did you do it?"

"Do what?" Nick said, a little frustrated. "It didn't work anyway."

"Just answer the question," she said, waiting for her answer. Nick sighed a little as he tilted his head so he could look her in the eyes.

"Self-asphyxiation," he replied quietly. "I tried to hang myself." The bunny's eyes widened, her purple eyes switching from interest to sympathy. She looked down at her feet, ears folded back against her head.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Sorry for what?" Nick asked. "Sorry that I didn't die? Or sorry that I did it in the first place?"

Before he got his answer, the door to the room opened. A tiger in a white doctor's coat walked in, looking through his clipboard. He didn't look very anxious, a sort of steely calm on his face.

"Mr. Wilde," he said, looking up from his clipboard, offering a warm, but professional, smile. "It's about time you woke up. We almost thought you were comatose."

Nick looked up at him. "What's wrong with me? Why do I have this cast on?"

"Well, Nick," the doctor began, looking at his notes. "When Ms. Otterton found you in your apartment, you were unconscious with a broken belt looped around your neck. We're just taking the precautions necessary to make sure internal damage wasn't done."

"He's saying they don't know what's wrong with you," the bunny simplified. "But there isn't, right? Anything wrong with him I mean." She looked at Nick with a bored ex[rssion on her face.

"It doesn't seem like it. No," the doctor said. "I recommend you talk to a licensed therapist to work out these... erm... suicidal thoughts of yours." Nick groaned. He hated psychiatrists. Always up in your business, asking why you did this, how come you said that. It was all very stressful. He must have been making some sort of face, because that's when the bunny piped in.

"I can keep an eye on him," she said, smiling devilishly. "I could make sure that he doesn't do this thing again for real."

The doctor nodded in agreement, saying, "Good idea, Ms. Hopps."

After a few uncomfortable hours of paperwork, Nick finally called his mother. She was hysterical. She had seen on the news that a fox in Cypress Grove, the street where he lived, had tried to kill himself. She knew it had to be Nick. He convinced her that he wasn't going to just go home and blow his brains out.

"Mom," he said. "I was just... I was in a rut, okay?" He rubbed his eyes as he paced the hospital parking lot. He had been given back his black winter jacket, a black t-shirt, and grey sweats.

"What kind of rut?" she asked, sniffing.

"The kind that makes you want to... do that... to yourself," he answered. The bunny from earlier nearby, arms crossed over her chest as she smoked another cigarette.

"First your father, now this?" She said, holding back sobs.

"I know... I understand. This was all bad timing," he sighed. "I love you, Ma, but I gotta go. My ride home is getting impatient." The bunny tapped her foot rapidly, watching him silently.

"Alright," his mother said weakly. "Call me again when you get the chance." Nick hung up the phone and approached the bunny leaning against the wall. She took a cigarette box from out of her jacket, offering him one. "No thanks," Nick said. "So, which is your car?"

"Aw, come on," she said. "We can walk home right? I wanna talk to you."

"It's cold out here," He said, shivering. "And it's been a rough day. I just want to go home and sleep."

She shrugged. "Your choice, dude." She walked away from Nick and towards a small, silver car. It wasn't very nice looking, and it was, in fact, sized to fit a bunny. "Well, get in!" she said, getting in the driver's seat.

Nick walked over to her car, ducking down to fit in the car. He sat in the passenger's seat, his legs scrunched up uncomfortably. His ears flat against his head, he looked at her with a confused look on his face.

"Wait, you wanted to walk to my place?" he said. "Wouldn't that mean you'd have to walk back here to get your car?"

"I could've let it sit here if I wanted it to," she said. "I'm almost always at the hospital. I mean, I do some pretty stupid shit with my friends." She chuckled. "One time, I managed to get one of those pull-tabs on beer cans lodged in my cheek."

Nick chuckled with her. "How'd you manage to do that?"

The bunny smiled. "I... tried to swallow a beer can whole." Nick held back laughter, clamping his mouth shut with his hands. She glared at him with an annoyed look. "I was drunk! My friend thought that bunnies and goats were the same thing, so, to test his theory, I tried to eat a beer can."

"That doesn't help your case, you know," he teased. At that, the doe started her car and finally pulled out of the hospital parking lot. The drive to his place was silent at first, consisting of Nick, resting his head on his right hand, staring out the window. He finally thought all this silence was a little too awkward, and spoke up.  
  
"What's your name?" he asked her. "I can't just call you Ms. Hopps."

She smirked, keeping her eyes on the road. "Why not?" She looked over at him for a brief second, before saying, "Fine. Call me Judy."

"Judy..." he said. "You look like a Judy.

"No I do not," she said, chuckling bitterly. "Judy is the name you give to some coddling old woman or a mousy librarian."

"Then what are you?" Nick asked, slightly amused.

"A punk bitch who does stupid things every week," she said. "What name would you say describes that?"

"Hmmm..." Nick thought aloud, scratching his chin. "I think Barbara might fit."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Wow. Thanks. At least Judy is better than Barbara." This comment earned a smile from Nick.

"What do I look like to you?" Nick asked, resting his head against his hand again.

The car stopped. They were at an intersection, giving Judy the opportunity to look over at Nick.

"Hmm..." She said, in a deep voice. She was clearly imitating him. "You look like a dumb fox who went and called a girl Barbara." Nick laughed at her joke as the light turned green.

"Turn right here," Nick said.

Judy scoffed. "I know where you live. I live on the same street, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Nick said. "Sorry." Judy's car pulled up in front of Nick's apartment building. It wasn't a large apartment building. It was rather small actually. Two windows adorned the left and right sides of the front of the building.

"Thanks for driving me home," Nick said. He scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't actually think I'd come back here again."

"Lucky you," she replied cheekily. She opened the car door for him. "Now get out of my car. I'm sleepy, and my bed is starting to miss me."

Nick raised an eyebrow at the strange bunny. He rolled his eyes and almost broke his neck trying to leave the small car. Judy watched him go, before remembering.

"Wait!" She said. She opened her car door and ran towards the fox. He turned around, noticing a crazy-eyed bunny rushing towards him. His mind automatically triggered a flight-or-flight response, meaning he raised his fists in a fighting stance. He knew nothing about the martial arts, but he knew how to bar-fight, and sometimes, that was enough.

Judy stopped running, a smile appearing on her small face.

"Were you just about to hit me?" She asked, before dismissing him. "I forgot to give you my number." She took a carrot-shaped pen out of her pocket and pressed a button on it.

"555-202-0196," she said, seemingly to the pen. Before Nick confirmed he was officially speaking to an insane asylum escapee, the doe tossed him the pen.

"There," she said. "Now you have a copy of it." A slightly confused Nick looked at the pen. It was a bulky, carrot shaped pen. He now noticed there was a speaker and button on it. He pressed a button. A recording of Judy's phone number played.

"A recording pen," Nick said, smirking. "Cute."

"Oh, shut up," Judy said. "Goodnight, one and all!" she walked back to her car, starting it, and driving only a couple feet away, where she parked in front of a small, white house. Not small to Nick. Actually small, like a cottage or something. It seemed to have two floors, the lights in the second floor on for some reason. Judy parked her car in front of the aforementioned house, got out of the car, and waved at Nick, smirking.

"She really is close by," the fox thought aloud, before jokingly remarking, "Well, world, it was nice knowing you."


	3. Somebody to Love

**Somebody to Love: Part One**

**  
**

"I could never do that," Judy Hopps said, taking a sip from her coffee. It was currently five in the morning, and she was having her Tuesday morning coffee with Benjamin Clawhauser, her best friend from work. They were sitting in a cyber cafe called Neo-Caffeine. It wasn't necessarily Judy's favorite coffee place, but that doesn't matter. What matters is what Judy was talking about with Clawhauser.

"What?" the rather voluptuous cheetah replied. "It's just a couple days."

"I get that," the bunny said, setting her plastic cup of coffee down for a second. "But I don't like being away from work longer than I have to."

"Why's that?" Clawhauser asked, sipping his coffee.

"What if something happens?" she explained. "Like, what if there were cutbacks, and I wasn't there?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," Clawhauser said. "But that's what vacation days are for; so I don't have to worry about what happens back at the office!"

"You have a point," Judy said. "But, like, what if you had something to hide? Wouldn't you rather be there to make sure no one finds it?"

 "What? Do you have something to hide, Ms. Hopps?" he teased.

"Oh, sure," She said. "I'm hiding a body in the freezer. Surprised you guys didn't notice, seeing as I got blood all over  _your_ desk."

The cheetah winced, as he replied, "Ew. Just, ew."

"Yeah," She said, adding awkwardly, "I just think I'd rather stay here. In Zootopia. Where I moved."

It was quiet for a minute. The two of them just sat there in silence, drinking their coffee. This wasn't the first time, Judy began to realize. Their conversations were getting shorter and shorter, and soon, there would be no conversation at all. Just silence. Then, they'd drift apart, and Judy would have no best friend to keep her company. And she was so scared that if Clawhauser left, she just wouldn't have anyone else to talk to.

"Did you hear?" Ben said, finally breaking the silence. "About the new guy?"

Judy looked up from her lap. "No," she said, glad someone finally talked. "Tell me."

"There's a new guy coming to our office," the cheetah said. "A fox, I hear. And a dude."

"What's his name?" the bunny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "I just heard from the grapevine."

"When do you think he might show up?" she asked.

"Sometime this week," he answered. "Rumor has it, he'll be a salesperson. He'll work in same area as you."

"Huh," Judy said.  _Though I probably won't speak with him anyway,_ she thought to herself. Judy had never really been a charismatic person. She more or less won people over with her polite demeanor and sweet behavior. At least, that's the way she saw it.

Clawhauser smiled. "I'm sure you two will be fast friends. As the rom-com cliche goes, opposites attract. I hear he's got quite the checkered past. Nothing too serious, I hope."

The bunny nodded. "The fact I'm working next to a criminal would be the last thing I ever worry about."

The cheetah across from her laughed. "I guess so. Anyway, I was thinking of inviting you to a get-together. Me and a few buddies from the office are gonna go get a couple of drinks at a bar."

Judy shook her head. Judy didn't drink. She just didn't.

"I don't drink," she said. "I just don't."

"Why not?" Clawhauser asked.

"I've been drunk before," She said, sighing. "I don't like the person it brings out." That was back when she was actually dating. She remembered what she was like, back when she had just moved to Zootopia. She had a relationship with some bunny named Miles. They had dated for a few months, until Miles broke it off. During that time, she had been going to bars, getting drunk, coming back home in the early AM, and waking up to Miles already gone to work.

"That's understandable," Clawhauser said, not asking any more questions about the matter. They entered another uncomfortable silence.

****

When Judy walked into work at Kaukonen Paper Company, that was when she saw the new guy.

Wearing a casual blue dress-shirt and a black dress pants, she walked into the workplace listening to her favorite Gazelle song, _Try Everything._ Actually, it had been her favorite song since she arrived in Zootopia...almost a year ago. She hadn't really wanted to find a new favorite song to listen to. She was content with what she had, musically.

Just as the chorus was playing for the second time in the song, she walked into the office. Speaking to the receptionist, in a black dress shirt with matching black pants, was a fox. He appeared to be in his early twenties, and he was rather tall. Hell, 'rather tall' could mean anything, thanks to her height. He had bright green eyes, which were currently on her.

"You must be 'Hopps!' the fox said, smiling. "I sit next to your desk in the 'bullpen." He extended his hand. At that, Judy took her white earbuds out and shook his hand.

"That's Judy. And you are?" She queried.

"Wilde," the fox said. "Nick Wilde. By the way, I was wondering where I could find the vending machine? I could go for a Cowka Cowla right about now."

"Sure!" Judy said. Nick, almost lovingly, waved goodbye to the receptionist. Judy rolled her eyes at the obvious flirting going on between the two. She took Nick past H.R. and to the lunchroom. Four white, round tables filled it, two chairs at each. The two chairs seemed a bit ironic to Judy; Not only did she and Clawhauser eat at their desks, they always were kicked out of the lunchroom. They seemed to always be too slow to claim a table in time.

"Cowca Cowla, huh?" Judy said. "Here. My treat." Judy wanted a good first impression with this new guy. Clawhauser was pretty much her only connection to the other employees at Kaukonen Paper Company.

"Why thank you, fluff," Nick said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Judy's ears perked up at the nickname. This seemed to literally come out of no where. And they just met, so it seemed a bit odd that he already had given her a nickname.

"Don't worry," Nick said, confusing her expression of confusion for agitation. "These nicknames are affectionate, I promise."

 Judy cleared her throat awkwardly as she paid for the Cowca Cowla, handing it to the tall fox. He slipped a black claw underneath the pull-tab, opening it quickly. He took a sip from it, looking down at the bunny.

"So," the fox said. "Where do you want to meet for lunch?"

"Lunch?" Judy asked. "We just met, and you want to go out for lunch with Clawhauser and I?"

"Clawhauser, I'm not so thrilled about."

"What do you mean?" Judy scoffed.

"Well, Clawhauser, for one, I don't know," Nick explained, taking another sip. "He didn't even greet me when I walked in. He just looked up from his desk, and then just continued on working. You, however, bought me a Cowca Cowla from the vending machine. You're making sure I'm settling in okay, right?"

"Yeah. So?" Judy asked.

"Well, that makes you okay in my book," Nick said. "And Clawhauser still has to prove himself to me."

"Well," Judy said, tapping her foot rapidly as she thought, amusing Nick in the process. "Clawhauser mentioned something about a get together. We can go there if you want."

Nick smiled. "There we go. Some music, booze, and all the time in the world. Perfect."

"Uh," Judy said. "It's Tuesday. So I don't think we have necessarily 'all the time in the world.'"

"You're a joy to talk to, Carrots," Nick teased. "Did I mention that?"

The doe rolled her eyes. "Another great nickname. And I promise I'm fun. Just wait for me to wake up."

"Slow morning, huh?" He asked.

"The slowest," she replied.

"Alright," he replied, finishing off his soda before throwing it in the garbage. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Yup," Judy said, smiling. She watched the fox walk off to talk to other employees. Nick smiled, told a joke, made the others laugh, and then he moved on. The bunny sighed as she thought to herself. She wished she was that outgoing and charismatic. Maybe she'd have someone else to talk to other than Clawhauser and, now, Nick.

"I'll see him tonight," She told herself. "At the party."

"Tonight."

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
